Plate passed for Huckabee at ministry site

Copeland allowed fundraiser where preachers had gathered

A televangelist under investigation by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee turned a national ministers' gathering last week into a fundraising opportunity for Mike Huckabee, reportedly helping to raise thousands of dollars for the cash-strapped presidential candidate.

The fundraiser was held at Kenneth Copeland Ministries' campus in Newark, Texas, a ministry spokesman confirmed Monday. But he said the event did not amount to an endorsement of Huckabee by the nonprofit church because the campaign paid for use of the facility.

Huckabee campaign spokesman Alice Stewart said she could not confirm the amount raised. But the Trinity Foundation, a group that monitors televangelists and viewed a live Internet broadcast of the event, said the fundraiser took in $111,000 and generated pledges nearing $1 million.